Ben Butler’s Surprise

This is my fourth year of illustrating all the posters for Portland Stage’s season. This time I was asked to provide a cohesive, limited palette as well as hand-lettering for all the posters, to better connect the group as a whole.

I admit I was surprised by last night’s performance of Ben Butler by Richard Strand.

When I read the play in January, I was dubious about the script, a slice of Civil War history based on actual events and real people but with invented dialogue. Still, I came up with numerous approaches after some visual digging about that period.

In one scene, a Confederate Major arrives at Fort Munroe in Virginia to retrieve a runaway enslaved person. He is blindfolded to keep him from seeing the Union fortifications. The blindfold became a fitting metaphor for the blind spots all over the whole premise.

Here I combined the runaway, Shepard Mallory, in shackles with a profile of Butler.

I looked at a lot of visuals from the era. An oval motif with Butler and Mallory had to get a shot.

Originally the play was titled Butler, and I found photographs of the real Benjamin Butler online. There are scant photographs of African Americans at that time, and none of Shepard Mallory, so I modeled him from a few period photos. All of these ideas played with the power imbalance and dynamic between the two lead characters.

At this point, I sent sketches to Marketing Director, Eileen Phelan for feedback. It turns out, the play is “part comedy.” I totally missed that tone reading the script, what with Mallory showing his whipping scars upon meeting General Butler.

I went back to the drawing board, but still had difficulty conjuring any comedy.

Much is made about having a toast of sherry. This becomes a pivotal exchange in more ways than one.

Sometimes I just keep drawing, and I finally hit something. This one captured the right feel. Shepard Mallory is running with a banner while each pant leg sports a flag, the Confederate and the Union.

This got the green light. And a new title, Ben Butler.

The hand lettering was done separately, using brush and ink, and later added digitally.

I saw last night’s performance with Marty Braun and our neighbor, Nicole d’Entremont, plus a house full of lawyers having a Night Out, thanks to Bernstein Shur.

It’s gratifying to see all my posters in the lobby. Bring on the 45th season!

The set by Anita Stewart was full of fascinating period details.

Butler was a graduate of Colby College and a controversial lawyer whose interpretation of the protocols of war led to Shepard Mallory’s status as “contraband” rather than returnable property of his Confederate owner.

Directed by Dan Burson with compelling performances by Cornelius Davidson as Mallory and Ron Orbach as Butler, the script leapt to larger than life proportions.

As reviewer Telly Halkius wrote for the Bangor Daily News, “It’s not often a play in a professional theatrical setting gets an immediate standing ovation before the lights are fully dimmed at final curtain. It’s also virtually unheard of for any kind of work – creative or historical –  dealing with slavery and the Civil War to receive a healthy dose of laughs and lightheartedness. Which all in all is what makes Portland Stage’s current run of Richard Strand’s “Ben Butler” a rarity in the realm of live stage performances.”

The show is playing through October 21, with a great season on the way. I think the group looks good together, do you?